It is truly fascinating to watch how fast and how broad the Government 2.0 revolution is spreading Globally.

Australia has recently launched it’s Declaration of Open Government. The United States launched it’s Opengov movement earlier this year at the Federal Government Level and the White House is already showing the highlights from around the U.S. Government.

Japan, Russia, India, Britain, Singapore are all starting to jump into the movement. The Kremlin even has it’s own Twitter feed. Twitter now has a list of “official accounts” devoted just to Leaders of Governments.

But Gov 2.0 is not just Twitter; or Facebook or Google. It is a deep understanding that change is happening, and happening because in part the people are demanding it. It is an awareness that this change might be unsettling for the very people implementing it. It is something else too. The United States is being given a clear warning shot: this industry is not one to be taken for granted as if it is “ours.” These other countries have teams of people, and lots of start-ups and Non-Government Organizations (NGO) that are well funded, and hungry to capitalize on this good revolution. The growth brings competition. The competition now has the same ability as U.S. start-ups to penetrate these markets. It is the very nature of this industry to be ubiquitous. That is to say, that Web 2.0 in general, and Gov 2.0 specifically, rely in part on the openness and sharing we all use every day.
Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others in the United States, take warning now. Price matters. So do well funded operations sourced by National governments. The competition may not just be one State away or across the country. It may be staring you down already in a foreign language and you don’t even know it yet.

There is a general point of view that government openness will only go so far. Many believe that there are cultural barriers including: concept that knowledge is power, dangers and risks associated with collaboration, lack of publication oversign and other processes, privacy + security concerns and the culture of expertise. Just to name a few.
So, many seem to think that Government 2.0 won’t lead to government transformation because culture cannot change radically.
There are 2 factors that suggest otherwise. The first is the more rapid adoption of these technologies in some countries creating competitive advantage: improved decision-making, more participation, excellence in governance. And, it is coming from many so-called “developing nations.”
The second factor is that society is changing regardless of Govenrment 2.0. There has been a gradual move from the post-war command-and-control “man in a gray flannel suit”, organization man to what we have today. I think that those who believe that government culture cannot change should reflect on the changes over the past few decades. Government 2.0 is unleashing a latent desire to improve public service. The rate of change is likely to accelerate as Web 2.0 savvy public servants rise to positions of influence.